Sunday, March 15, 2009

Friday, February 20, 2009

I'm in Beijing! China is full of people, shops, food, random junk, more people... I've moved into my dorm/hostel and am settling in well. My first day was pretty disastrous though. When I arrived it was raining and pouring, and when I got to my dorm I tried to turn the tap on and YELLOW water came out. Not just yellow, but OPAQUE yellow. And then the tap splattered everywhere and turned itself off and on which gave me a heart attack. All I wanted to do was have a shower, so I turned the shower on, and water exploded out of the showerhead and the whole thing fell apart onto the floor.

24 hours and a lot of foot stomping and "NO it is NOT OKAY"-ing later, my shower was fixed. Another 48 hours and I had hot water! Tip for potential students of Chinese in Beijing - if you arrive earlier than the official start of semester I suggest you stay in a hotel because your dorm will not be ready and it is likely you will have strange, freezing water until the first day of class. (This happened to me in Shanghai as well - the day the term ended, all services mysteriously disappeared.)

I've spent the last week mopping and cleaning and attempting to beautify my room.

My Spartan Walk in Robe

My room on the first day

My current wall!

My bathmat - there doesn't seem to be a 'plain' option in China, everything has to have cute characters all over it

Oscar, my Humidifier (again, no plain option, must be a cute animal)

The basketball court

The view from my room

And last but not least...

Happy Birthday Mum!!Sending you lots of love and hugs :)

Happy Birthday Winnie!!You're on my wall this month :p, hope you have a gorgeous day!

Friday, February 6, 2009

Friday, January 30, 2009

I have decided to start playing golf, so I went to the driving range yesterday.

I have a new blister and my left arm is really tired (to the point of shaking), but it was actually lots of fun! I'm going to bring a club to Beijing with me and try to practice at least once a week :) I'm not sure how people go to the driving range in minus 10 degrees weather though...

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

This morning one of my aunts hung her knickers out to dry with the rest of the laundry, and within moments they were missing! We're told there is a pervert in the area who kidnaps ladies' underwear! This new discovery spurred my mum to check her luggage - where she found only 3 of her 9 pairs remained.

Lucky for me, the knicker-napper so far seems to be only after granny pants a la Bridget Jones.

That being said, granny pants may be making a comeback, thanks to Spanx. Sported recently by Sienna Miller, Beyonce and (below) Kimberley Walsh, who knows? They might soon be arriving at a closet near you!

Sunday, January 25, 2009

The National Museum of Singapore was renovated about two years ago and is an absolutely beautiful architectural space - a seamless blend of the historic and modern. I heard it's just a short walk from the Dhoby Gaut MRT station (but I have the worst sense of direction, so naturally I got lost and by the time I arrived at the Museum I was all sticky and panting and stressed, and to be honest, in a pretty disgraceful state).

The interior of the Museum

All my stresses were alleviated however, by a 3-course lunch at Novus ($35 Mondays - Saturdays).

My crab & potato starter(yes, I'm allergic to crab, no, it doesn't stop me from indulging once in a while)

Spot the Tash in the Steak

Aerial view

Hungry Mum & D

Dessert

After the free guided tour (very worth going on by the way), we had a look at the temporary exhibit "Come In: Interior Design as a Contemporary Art Medium in Germany". I was expecting interior design exhibits, but the artists actually created weird and whimsical installations that were just loosely based on interior design concepts. The pieces worked as a kind of social commentary on modern day life.

This was a reconstruction of the room of a man who planned a bomb attack in Europe - in the room itself, a TV played footage of the bombings

My favourite piece

The funniest thing I saw all day was this video of artist Hans Hemmert bouncing around in a yellow balloon to this catchy song "Shame on You". I know it doesn't sound particularly exciting, but watching the massive yellow balloon bounce around the screen was somehow really mesmerising and entertaining.

I also loved the Fashion and Food halls on the upper level of the Museum. The gorgeous fifties-style dresses were on display, funny videos about makeup application in the 60's and the room full of Southeast Asian herbs and spices entertained me all afternoon.